Freedom of Information background information
1. Introduction
1.1 Section 19 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 requires each public authority in England and Wales , and elsewhere in the United Kingdom to
a) adopt and maintain a publication scheme (which relates to the publication of information by the authority concerned) which is approved by the Information Commissioner
b) publish information in accordance with its publication scheme
c) from time to time to review its publication scheme.
1.2 Publication schemes must specify 'classes of information' which the authority publishes, or intends to publish; set out how the information in each 'class' is published, or will be published; and whether the information is available free of charge or on payment.
1.3 The Freedom of Information Act, and the development of publication schemes such as this, are key to the further development of the access of information by local people, and by others, to information which is held by public authorities such as this Council. The Freedom of Information Act builds upon and complements previous legislation including the Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985 and the Data Protection Act.
1.4 The publication scheme developed and published by this Council builds upon other authority-wide preparations to meet parallel electronic-government performance targets. Electronic government, including the worldwide web, will assist the council, like others, to make the classes of information set out in its publication scheme freely available to the public as a matter of course.
1.5 As noted above, 'published information' refers to much more than traditionally printed material – published documents, plans, reports – and includes publication on the council's web site, one – off reports and documents prepared for the council on a personal computer, leaflets, reports and other information.
1.6 The requirement to publish information in accordance with the publication scheme is an absolute statutory requirement, and applies to all council services, subject to a limited range of exemptions (see below).
2. Exempt information
2.1 The Freedom of Information Act sets out a range of information which is excluded from the requirement to be published. These include a number of absolute exemptions including information which is accessible to the applicant by other means, information provided in confidence, information where disclosure would constitute contempt of court, and personal information (where the applicant is the subject of the information).
In addition, there are other exemptions where the council has first to consider whether or not disclosure is required in the public interest. These include information relating to investigations and proceedings by the council, its audit functions, information on the formulation of policy, information where disclosure would be prejudicial to the effective conduct of public affairs, and information on commercial and contractual matters. In these cases, and others specified by the Act, the Council must consider whether the public interest in withholding the information requested outweighs the public interest in releasing it. All such requests for information must be treated on their merits, and a judgement made in each case as to whether the information is exempted or not. Where the Council believes that the information is exempted, the applicant must be advised, with specific reasons given.
2.2 General correspondence set or received by the council, and all information relating to private individuals is excluded by virtue of it being personal data under the Data Protection Act. It should be noted that the Freedom of Information Act sits alongside Data Protection legislation, and does not have any impact upon existing arrangements for requests made by individuals under that legislation relating to personal data.
2.3 The council's publication scheme, as set out here, relates to information which is currently published by the council, or which the council intends to publish. This does not mean that older, historical information cannot be obtained; it indicates only that it is not available as a matter of course within the publication scheme. Much older information on the council, and on the council's predecessors in public administration, is available through the Local History Centre, Essex Street , Walsall .
3. Requests for information listed in the publication scheme
3.1 The publication scheme sets out clearly where information can be obtained
For information available in person or by post, requests can be made to
The Freedom of Information Office
Policy Unit
Civic Centre
Darwall Street
Walsall MBC
WS1 1TP
Email foi@walsall.gov.uk
When making a request for information, please include these details
- Your name and address
- The information or documents you require (please be as specific as you can)
- The format you would prefer – printed, large print, electronic version via e-mail, floppy disk
The Council aims to provide information listed in the scheme within 5 working days.
4. Charging for information
4.1 The Council already makes a wide range of printed information available at no cost, and material is also available via the Council's website: Some material is published at a charge – for instance, some historical publications of the Local History Centre – and this will continue.
4.2 Where information is specifically printed off to meet an enquiry, the Council reserves the right to make a reasonable charge, to cover any printing or staff time, as identified by individual service areas.
5. Feedback on the council's scheme
5.1 The Council is conscious that its publication scheme is a new development, prepared in accordance with the Act, and following guidance provided to Councils by the Information Commissioner and by the Lord Chancellor's Office.
5.2 As other Council's schemes become available, the Council expects to amend its own scheme in line with what emerges as 'best practice' to ensure that our scheme meets the requirements of the Act and needs of local people and other enquirers.
5.3 The Council welcomes suggestions for additional classes of information that might be included in this publication scheme. The Council also welcomes suggestions as to how publications might be improved, or regarding the layout of the Council's web- site or of this scheme.
5.4 Any questions, comments or complaints about this scheme should be sent to - Freedom of Information, Policy Unit, Civic Centre, Darwall Street, Walsall, WS1 1TP or by email foi@walsall.gov.uk, by telephone 01922 650000, text telephone 01922 652010 or fax 01922 614210.
6. About this council
6.1 Publication schemes must include a brief description of the responsibilities of the authority.
6.2 Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council is responsible for the provision of the full range of local government services to the Borough of Walsall, including education and schools, social services, libraries, museums and leisure, community education, highways and planning, environmental health and consumer services, waste management, and housing services. The Council comprises 60 elected Councillors, representing local residents living within 20 electoral wards.
6.3 Overall responsibility for Freedom of Information within the Council lies with the Director of Corporate Services.
7. Other formats
7.1 The information in this publication scheme can be made available on request in alternative formats including Braille, large print, audio tape, or in other languages. Contact the Freedom of Information Act coordinator (see paragraph 5.4 above) or contact one of the numbers listed below:-
(arrangements to be established with the Walsall Communication and Translation Service, tel. 01922 644016, for enquiries about the scheme in other languages including Bengali, Gujerati, Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu)
This page was last updated on 18 September 2008